Hatshepsut was the first great woman in history. She is known as the forerunner of Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, and Elizabeth I. Being the first great woman in history, she was also the first woman pharaoh. She became pharaoh when her husband Thutmose II, the pharaoh, died. She was in power for twenty years, in which the Egyptian economy flourished. Her successor was her nephew, Thutmose III, the Napoleon of Ancient Egypt. Hatshepsut had the traits of most pharaohs, even a fake beard. Thutmose III erased her name from a temple to show he wasn't overly fond of her, though. She was a great pharaoh.